Anything but Ordinary
by penguingirl266
Summary: Post-OOTP. Harry's miserable in the summer after his fifth year, but can a mysterious letter from Sirius change everything? A prequel to "It's a Slytherin Life" and a songfic. No slash.


A/N: This is a prequel to my story "It's a Slytherin Life", so if you like that story, you'll probably like this one. This story is dedicated to my dear friend TheHyperFreek, because she insists that she has been secretly married to Sirius for years, and because I want to tell her I'm sorry and I didn't mean anything that I said. And now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, don't even ask. I'm not Avril Lavigne, either, so the song in this story, "Anything but Ordinary", does not belong to me.

I thought both of the quotes below expressed the essence of this story. Enjoy!

* * *

The secret of a good life is to have the right loyalties and hold then in the right scale of values.

**Norman Thomas**  
_US socialist politician (1884 - 1968)_

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

**Isaac Asimov**  
_US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 - 1992)_

* * *

ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY

"Harry. Harry. _Harry_."

Harry James Potter woke up to a voice he didn't think he'd be hearing till the end of the summer.

"_Remus?_" He sat bolt upright and put on his glasses, through which he could see his former teacher more clearly.

Remus Lupin was standing by Harry's bed, looking rather anxious. In one hand he held a brown envelope; the other hand had been shaking Harry awake. He took a step back as Harry scrutinized him from every angle. Lupin's hair was even grayer than usual, and there was now a permanent line between his eyebrows.

"Remus, what are you doing here?" said Harry blankly. "I mean, I appreciate your company, but Ron wrote to tell me that the Advance Guard wouldn't pick me up for another two weeks."

"I'm not here to take you to Headquarters," said Lupin quietly, looking around the small bedroom that the Dursleys had given Harry. "Although we've fixed up Number 12 Grimmauld Place considerably. No, Harry, I have a letter for you from Sirius."

Harry stared at Remus for about ten seconds, his expression first hopeful, then sorrowful, then very angry. Jumping out of bed, he roughly shoved Lupin out of his way. "That's not funny, Remus," he muttered, going over to Hedwig and shoving an Owl Treat up her beak to an indignant hoot. "That's not funny at all."

Harry went over to his closet to get out some clothes, tossing shirts and pants onto the floor in his anger. Only when he had picked out an outfit and turned around did he see that Lupin was quietly watching him. Harry's surprise made him listen to what Lupin had to say next.

"I know it sounds very, very impossible," said Lupin, still looking at Harry, "but it's true. No, he is not alive," he continued, looking at Harry's dumbstruck face, "but before he died, he wrote out letters to three people to read in case he _did_ die. He wrote one to Dumbledore, one to me, and one," Lupin said with a wry smile as he passed the envelope into Harry's now outstretched hand, "to you, Harry."

Without a word, Harry took the letter from Lupin.

"I think I'll be over here," said Remus, gesturing to Hedwig, "trying to unstick your owl's beak."

Harry sat down on the bed, tore open the envelope, and began to read.

_Dear Harry,_

_If you're reading this, I'm probably dead, unless you've been snooping through my things—you wouldn't dare! Anyway, if I'm dead, I hope I died nobly, and not tripping over Kreature or something._

Harry's eyes narrowed at the mention of the house elf that had betrayed Sirius. Still, he read on.

_I'm not going to tell you not to be sad for me, because plenty of people do that, and the family and friends cry anyway—stupid thing to do, if you ask me. However, I _do_ have a favor to ask you. Please don't do something stupid just because I've gone—like kill yourself just to be with me. Believe me; I will make your afterlife miserable if you even think about doing something like that. You have much more important things to do—like work for the Order! You'll be old enough soon to take on that responsibility._

_I've left my house and my fortune to you in my will. You can do as you like with both of them—I suggest using the money to buy a ton of Dungbombs and setting them off in the main hallway of Grimmauld Place. Just don't tell Molly I gave you permission to do that._

_Oh, and by the way, please tell Hermione not to do anything nice for Kreature anymore—he's a dirty little rat who doesn't deserve it. I'll tell your mum and dad that you send all your love. At last, I'll get to be with James again! Who knows what pranks we'll play in the Afterlife! I already have plans._

_Don't make things too hard for yourself, Harry. I'll still be watching you, if not on Earth, then somewhere far above it. _

_I'm no shakes of a great writer, but after writing most of this letter, I'm inspired to write a poem about what my life was about. I loved life, and lived it to the fullest extent, especially when I was younger. So here's the poem, expressing all my feelings._

_Sometimes I get so weird  
I even freak myself out  
I laugh myself to sleep it's my lullaby  
Sometimes I drive so fast  
Just to feel the danger  
I want to scream it makes me feel alive  
  
Is it enough to love  
Is it enough to breathe  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
  
To walk within the lines  
Would make my life so boring  
I want to know that I have been  
To the extreme  
So knock me off my feet  
Come on now give it to me  
Anything to make me feel alive  
  
Is it enough to love  
Is it enough to breathe  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
  
Let down your defenses  
Use no common sense  
If you look you will see  
That this world is a beautiful, accident,  
turbulent, succulent, opulent,  
permanent, no way  
I wanna taste it  
Don't wanna waste it away  
  
Sometimes I get so weird  
I even freak my self out  
I laugh myself to sleep it's my lullaby  
  
Is it enough, is it enough?  
Is it enough to breathe  
Somebody rip my heart out  
And leave me here to bleed  
Is it enough to die  
Somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
  
Is it enough?  
Is it enough to die  
somebody save my life  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please  
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please_

_Well, there you are Harry. Say hi to everyone for me, and remember that I'll always be watching over you, just like your dad and mum are right now._

_Your loving godfather,_

_Sirius_

That was it. Harry looked up from the letter, feeling very strange. For the first time since Sirius's death, he felt a sense of relief from his grief. He finally knew that Sirius had died the way he had wanted to.

Remus looked around from Hedwig's cage. "I finally got her beak unstuck," he said. "Are you done reading?"

Harry nodded. "You can read it if you want to." He stood up and stretched, feeling light as a feather. "But first we'll go downstairs and have some tea. And I need to get dressed." He gestured to his pajamas and grinned.

Remus chuckled. "Will the Dursleys mind that I entered their house without their knowing or permission?"

Harry then did something he had not done since Sirius died. He threw back his head and laughed. Remus began to laugh, too, in his relief at seeing Harry happy.

"Well," said Harry, once he had stopped laughing, "to be perfectly honest, I don't really care what they care about anymore. C'mon, let's go downstairs."

And as both of them left the room, Harry paused and looked up. Although he could not see Sirius, Harry was certain that his godfather was looking down on him, smiling.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

IN THE STORY "IT'S A SLYTHERIN LIFE"

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A/N: Please, please review! You would make me so happy if you did!


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